On 6 February 2012, the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture introduced regulation 05/2012 restricting the import of seeds into the country. The provisions require each importer of seeds to "obtain a permission from the Ministry 'of Agriculture' beforehand" (own translation; art. 4 of regulation 05/Permentan/OT.140/2/2012).Furthermore, article 9(2) of the regulation stipulates that the imports of seeds have to be concluded within two years after the registration of the variety. Afterwards, the seeds need to be produced within the country; unless they cannot be produced in Indonesia (art. 9(3)).The regulation came into force on the day of its announcement.